A data center can be modeled as rows of racks that house electronic systems, such as computing systems or other types of electrical devices. The computing systems (such as computers, storage devices, servers, routers, networking devices, etc.) consume power for their operation. The computing systems of the data center may reside in these racks. In a typical data center, there may be dozens or even hundreds of electrical devices. Each of these devices is connected to an electrical power source.
Data centers consume significant amounts of power, much of which is wasted in transmission and distribution, overcooling, and idle servers. Various studies have shown that about 35 W (watts) of electricity goes toward 1 W of actual work. In order to effectively utilize power in data centers and to ultimately reduce the overall power usage, it is critical to first measure how different data center equipment (e.g., servers, routers, storage equipment, cooling unit and power distribution units) consume power, and then to use the consumption information to optimize power usage.
The problem of measuring power consumption in data centers is complex for several reasons. First, the number of devices that consume power can be very large. Any solution will need to be cost effective and will need to apply to large as well as small data centers. Second, data centers use a variety of devices and mechanisms to deliver power. Any solution will need to address the heterogeneity and legacy issues in the data center. Finally, a large number of devices or systems in data centers can be idle or outdated. Some mechanism is needed to enable data center operators to remotely manage data center equipment and the power consumption of data center equipment.
In some cases, data center operators have responded by installing Smart power strips or Rack Power Distribution Units (RPDUs) that can measure power at the rack or at the plug level. Some of these RPDUs can use the Internet Protocol (IP) network to transfer this information. Unfortunately, the networking capabilities of many of the conventional RPDUs are not utilized because of the cost and complexity of connecting them to the IP network.
Thus, an apparatus and method for collecting and distributing power usage data from RPDUs using a wireless sensor network are needed.